GameSpot has posted an interesting interview with Big Time Software's president Charles Moylan about their detailed wargame Combat Mission. The Mac version of this game is cited as one of the reasons behind this game's success. The interview is part of an in-depth look back on how this much-acclaimed game was put together. Here's a clip from the huge ten-page feature talking about the factors behind the game's success:

Gamers want more for their money. To this end we did four things:

(1) Combat Mission is open and extensible so that new graphics and sounds can easily be substituted by artists who want to make "mods." One of the coolest things to do is to provide your favorite winter camouflage for vehicles. "Mods" for Combat Mission are already appearing on the Web.

(2) The work we did to research the game really paid off. Attention to detail makes for a much deeper and rewarding game experience, which brings people back to the game again and again to always find something new.

(3) Combat Mission includes a full-featured scenario editor, which allows gamers to make their own battles. New scenario packs are on the Net already, ready for free download.

(4) Combat Mission's random battle generator means you'll never run out of battles. Sometimes you want something unpredictable, and this is it.

A Macintosh version: Having a Mac version ready to ship on the same day as the Windows version has increased our sales by 20 percent, for only a small amount of additional (and reusable) development effort.